Cuba gets internet!

OH, SURE, internet has been available in Cuba for a spell for certain hotshots, but now regular Cubans will be eligible to surf the web.

Of course, the cost will be high and the connection speed will be dicey but, hey, that’s better than nothing, right?

I learned about this development from a story on the PanAm Post. Some readers will recall that we went to Cuba in 2012 for our 10th anniversary. I wrote a two-parter here that I later combined on its own website, redhellhole.

Inch by inch, Cuba is coming out of its cave, the grim time that began with the success of the Castroite Revolution that guaranteed a low standard of living for everyone. Well, except for the Castro boys and their cronies. They’re filthy rich.

To this day you run into plenty of clueless individuals who hold Cuban communism in high regard. Few, if any, of them choose to live in Cuba, of course.

Eight years ago most of the songs I heard being blasted from car stereos were narcocorridos. Now, most of the songs I hear are reggaetón. Some of my friends are big fans and I listen to it myself on YouTube.

I would like to believe that you are right — that Cuba is gradually moving toward capitalism (and thus freedom). The state of the world, however, leads me to believe that no country is advancing toward freedom. The evidence indicates otherwise, from every corner of the globe.

The only problem will be that people (mostly) neither own computers nor smartphones. So yeah, the internet will be hanging out there, tantalizingly close, but unreachable. Sort of like the Florida Keys.

Saludos,

Kim G
Redding, CAWhere we might well get a lot more done without the internet constantly tantalizing us.

Even in 1998 when I went to cover the pope’s visit there was some sort of vestigial internet service in Cuba, but very limited and very expensive. My cousin who is a doctor in Cuba has an internet account and an email address but you can tell he copy edits his emails twice or three times before hitting “send” lest the government cut off this perk for saying some “anti-revolutionary” stuff. Sometimes he seems to write in code.

But you can’t blame the government. If I were in charge I’d be scared too of everyone having access to uncensored news and information and getting “wrong” ideas.

I’m with you, I can’t wait until that sorry mess down there finally collapses.